This ia perfect Scripture as a mom of 3 boys (and one girl, but there seems to be an extra abundance of joy around bodily funcations for my boys.)

​Jesus is challenged by Phairisees for not making his disciples ceremonially wash their hands before they eat. For whatever reason, on this occassion they did not wash - at least not ritually. And Jesus gets called out by the religious authorities. But Jesus is ready for them.

​He responds by claiming that the things that go into your body are not what make you unclean. It's the things coming out of your heart that matter. This is essentially Jesus version of a 'poop' joke. Jesus is funny!!!! He literally says, whatever goes in your mouth comes out the other end. Food is simply food, it goes in and out. What really matters is the state of the heart, what comes out of your heart matters.

​After this Jesus continues to heal, but there is an interesting interaction with a Greek, Syrian, Phoenician woman who had a sick daughter. Jesus looks to her and basically, in metephor, says, he came first to help the Jews. (Evidenced by the earlier teachings in this chapter.)

​But he does heal the woman's daughter, and he continues to heal a man who is deaf. Opening a man's ears so that he might actually hear...

​So often we focus on Jesus ministry with the marginalized, the oppressed, the outcast. And Jesus did incredibly ministry among people in these very difficult situations. But here, we see that Jesus came to overhaul a system. A system that had replaced the intent of worship with a series of ritual and tradition.

​It is a good reminder that when we follow Jesus, our worship, our faith does not come from ritual or tradition, rather it is a matter of our hearts. Isn't it just like Jesus to do the most good, use every opportunity to both teach and heal, maximize his every breath and moment?

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Pastor Shawna

30 Day Bible Challenge​This year we embark on a New Year's Revolution and begin by centering ourselves on God's Word...It's easy. 10 minutes/day​30 days.​Post a picture of yourself reading or simply check in that you are participating to encourage others as they read. Read the suggested reading or whatever you want. ​#LPUMCBibleChallenge​#LPUMC30DayRevolution.